Defining Purpose with One Word

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Cory Richards, National Geographic photographer and professional climber for 25 years, walked away from both careers at 40 after his nervous system broke from constantly visualising his own death on mountains. After realising his value had become tied to proximity to mortality, he faced a truth: the "fuck you, watch me" energy driving his achievements stemmed from believing something was fundamentally wrong with him since his bipolar diagnosis at 14.

You'll hear his single-word framework for defining purpose, why he believes all love is self-sourced rather than received from others, and why mental health diagnoses describe behaviour patterns rather than fundamental deficits.

00:00 Introduction
01:30 Why Cory left the mountains to start over in Venice
04:17 Contrasting freedom in LA with safety in Dubai
10:20 Reducing news and social media to protect happiness
13:00 Changing your life starts with changing your story
15:06 The Everest Snapchat that sparked public vulnerability
17:02 What bipolar disorder actually is and why labels matter
20:19 Learning to manage depressive waves with self-compassion
23:20 Social isolation vs pushing yourself into connections
27:15 Confronting mortality while climbing Everest
30:53 Consciousness, nature, and the idea of energy
34:20 Psychedelics as a hard reset and mental health tool
41:02 Finding purpose and fulfilment through service
49:24 Why compassion, not performance, is Cory’s core value
54:05 Money as freedom units, not status signifiers
55:32 Replacing risky climbs with entrepreneurial adventure
58:49 Navigating authority, expectations and independence
01:00:42 Generational tension between safety and freedom
01:04:09 Online role models, influence, and bad advice
01:11:06 Cultivating a strong heart and filtering your circle
01:14:15 Heartbreak, resilience, and learning from pain
01:19:54 Is love self-sourced or something we find?
01:28:41 Cory’s career with NatGeo and letting it all go
01:33:02 Capturing moments vs being trapped in the shot
01:35:48 Tech, suicide rates, and the illusion of connection

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